Machine for making tire patches



May 20; 1930. P. E. HAWK!,NSON 1, 5

I MACHINE FOR MAKI TIRE PATCHES Original Fild Aug 25, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 arm? fuaf% Mama y 1930. P. E. HAwKmsoN 1,759,507

MACHINE FOR MAKING TIRE PATCHES Original Filed Aug. 25, 1925 4 Shgets-Sheet 2 MACHINE FOR MAKING TIRE PATCHES Original Filed Aug. 25, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 May 20, 1930. P. E. HAWKINSON 1,759,507

MACHINE FQR KING TIRE PATCHES 7 Original Filed Aug. 25, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented May 20, 1930 M STATE-5 PAUL E; HAwKINsoiI/oE MI'nNEAPo'IJIs; MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO KEHAWKE MANU- rAcT'URING c0., or MINNEAPOLIS, MInNEsozrA, A CORPORATION or MINNESOTA MACHINE non vmxmeminn PATCHES 7 16, 1 927. Serial No. 240,354.

invention relates to animp'roved machine for producing tire} patches of -the gen,-

eral type disclosed in my patent 'NOQI, 43,6,394=,-

dated N ovemberQl, 1922, V

This application. is a divi'si'enf of "my copending application, Serial "No. 52,474, filed August 25, 1925 ,invvhich the-method of mak ing the tirepatches is claimed. u e

In the usual methodheretofore-employed in making patches foif'repairing, pneumatic tire casings, as set forth in myTabo've-mentioned patent, ithasbeen the practice to strip or pull the desired number, of plies or: layers of fabric and interposed. rubber from f the carcass of a used tire; cut the removed, layers or plies-to'the desiredshape'f(usually circular) and then skive the 'edge 'so thata neat or flat joint may be made vvith the carcass of the tire to be repaired. When the plies forpatc'h material vare r'emoved"'f-rom the tire carcass in this manner the separation is usually'un even, the interposed: layer of rubber'adherin'g in places to the surface of the re'mbvedjpnes and in other places-to the remaining carcass. The surfaces of the patch material are therefore apt to beuneven, covered with alayer of rubber insome portions and substantially free of rubber'in other portions. Becauseof this uneven cleavage" when the pulling'ineth- 0d of separation is em 1o ed,it has been'the practice to buff the su'rfacesof the patch material to remove any traces of the rubber layer adhering theretdand to thereby give the surfaces a uniform .exposureo'f'fabric; "Unless the bufling of this surplus. rubber fro'm'the surfaces of-the patchis very earerull done, the fabric is apt to becomefloosenedandparts thereof removed, thus materially redueing its strength. F I v The use of such fabric faced'fpatchesijijrepairing .tires according to the method set forth in my previously inentionedIpatent ordinarily requires that,'.before'.tl'1e patch is placed, one" or both-of its fabric. facesbe covered: or coated fvfvith athin layerfof :gum

rubber OrE 'simiIar material. These extra steps of removing the uneven-glayer of original rubber and then-applying thejthinand;

uniform coating of new rubber: adds "to, the labor and expense of making "the patches;

Furthermore,- this application of uncured rubber to the surfaces of the patch material does" not always produce a thorough union between the rubber and; the buffed fabric, such, for example, as exists? between the layers of fabric and vulcanized rubber of;a

tire casing. It'has also been found that, in

pulling the patch material from the carcass, the fabric at the." plane of cleavage isoftentimes injured because of the tendency to deform and tear the fabric and to-stretch posed.- The principal-- object of-my, presentinv'ention 1s to provide a machine capableofsevermg one ormore plies of f-abricfromaa used tire casing by cutting through the intermediate layer-of rubber. 1

' Iprefer to take thepatch m'aterial' from used tires because the plies are firmly Welded or cementedtogether, all of the stretch has been removed from the fabric so that the patch will remain in positionand'vvillnot bulge, the material is formed tothe shape of the tire to be repaired,' ,and furthermore, the materials ordinarily-used'intire manufacture are of a better grade and quality than ean'be anddisplace the strands of which it is--comobtained-upon the market merely for'tire 'furtherobje'ct is to providea simple 'iinproved machine'vvhich is particularly adapted to cutone or more plies of 'fabricffrom a pneumatic tire casing. further object is to'provideama'chine for the aboveimentio'ned purposes,.invvhich the cutting "means isreadily removable from operative position and to provide means for automatically connecting the cutting "means to the driving means when the cutting means ismoved' to operative position. I

A further object is-to provide a noveirbriii ofjcuttin'g ineans' anda novel means for sup- V porting, driving and adj'usting the same, a p

further object'is to provide a novel form I of adjustable feedingmeans for feeding the tire casing to the cutting means.

Other objects will appear Figurev 3 is a left sidejelevation showing the 7 cutting knife in operative position;

Figure 4 is a vertical cross-section taken on the plane represented by the line. 4-4 in Figurel, showing the cutting means in inop erative position" Figure 5 is a vertical section taken on the plane represented-in line 55 in Figure 1,

showing the parts in operative position;

Figure 6 is a similar section taken on the f plane represented 'by the line 66 in Figure 1, showing latching bar which holds the parts in operative position; 7

Figure 7 is a detailed section taken on the plane'represented by the line 7 7 in Figure 1 and showing particularly the means for op erating the feeding rollers; i

' Figure 8 is a detailed elevation of the knife guide means, partly broken away to show the roller;

Figure 9 is a planview of the knife guide means, and V v Figure 10 is a vertical section of the knife guide means taken on the plane represented by the line 10-10 in Figure. 9. Y

My machine is mounted on a structural frame consisting'of four vertical legs 1 which may be secured to the floor by angle iron clips 2. Transverse cross rods 3 and longitudinal rods 4 are bolted to these legs 1. Crossed tie members 5 are secured to these vertical-members '1 for additional strength support for the knife frame supporting shaft 7 the knife frame consisting of L-shaped arms '8 which are secured at one end to'the shaft? by means of set screws 9. The right hand arm 8 (Figure 1) is extended at 8 to form .a rhandle by which'the frame may be raised. The L-shaped members 8 have bearingslO formed therein adapted to receive the shafts 11- and 11 upon which the pulleys 12 arefsecured. ,jCollars 13 are secured by set screws to the upper end of the shafts 11 and 11?, the lowersurface of these collars forming a' bearing surface for the shafts '11.

' The endless band knife 14 is carried by the pulleys 12 being driven bytheright handv pulley (Figures 1 and .2) which is fixed on the shaft 11. A morticed member 11 (Figure 4) is'secured to'the end of the shaftll and, when the knife frame is in-lowered operative position, is adapted to engagethe tenonrnember l5' secured to the upper end of a power shaft 16, rotatably held in the bear.

7 from the follow ing description in Which: e

ing support 18 which at its ends is fixed to the upper longitudinal rods 4.

The shaft 16 may be directly connected to a motor or other suitable source of power or as shown in Figure 2, may be driven through a friction clutch 17 partly carried by a shaft 18 which carries a pulley 19 and is suitably supported for rotation in a bearing support 20 which is clamped to the"lOWQI" 1OIlg11/lld inal rods 4. r 1

Bolted between the L-shaped members 8are the rods 21 and 22'which aid in making the knife frame rigid and also serve to hold the guide supports 23 which are clampedto these i 7 bars by means of bolts which pass through the supports and also through similar but shortericlamping bars 24. The knife'guide 7 25 is bolted near its ends to support bars 23. V V

Theguide 25, as is best shownin Figures 5, 8, 9, and 10, is triangular'incross-section the ends of the and at its downwardly pointing apex hasa V 7 As said before, theishaft 7' and conse- 'quently' the entire knife supporting frame, may be'pivotally moved relative to the main frame. When in raised or inoperative position the elbows of the L shaped members 8 engage the upper rear longitudinal rod 4 and the frame is thus held in approximately vertical position as is shown in Figure 4. It is desirable to have theloweroperative position adjustable, and to accomplish this apair of'arms 27 are secured to-the rod 22 and arefadapted to have their ends engage bolts28 which are vertically adjustable in the feeding means supporting bars29 and 30, respectively. A suitable latching lever 31, pivoted on the bar 22 and having a handle portion 31 and an open slot 31 Whichis adapted to engage the rod 4, is provided to lock the band knife support frame in lower operative position.

A knurled or roughened feed roller 32 is rotatably supported on a shaft 33which at its ends is carried by a pair of guide blocks 34 having slots 34. These guide blocks are 7 carried 'by the bars 29 and 30,- respectively.

pair of adjusting screws 35 'arefscrew' A threaded through theblocks and have their ends rotatably secured to the ends of the shaft 33. Suitable locking thumb "nuts 36 are threaded on these-screws sothat the roller may be securelyheld in adjusted position. Secured at the end of the bars 29 and 30 is'a second pair o f'guide blocks 36to which is bolted a bar 37 Another bar38 extends m 39 and 40, respectively. A worm wheel 43 its ends is bolted to the links 39 and 40, re-

spectively. A roller 41 having an outer sur face of soft rubber or similar material, which is adapted to conform to irregularities in the surface of the material to be cut, thus tending to equalize the distribution of the pressure of the roll upon the casing, is fixed to a shaft 42, the ends of which extend through the slots 36 and arejournaled in the links is fixed to the right hand (Figure 1) end of the shaft 42 and is engaged for rotation by a worm 44 which is keyed to a shaft 45 carried in bearings 46 attached to the link 40. A crank handle 47 is shown integral with the worm shaft 45. The tire or other material being sliced is fed upwardly to the band knife by manually turning this crank.

In orderto grip the tireor similar stock between the rollers, the roller 41 may be moved toward the roller 32. This is accomplished by turning the crank 48 integral with the screw 48* which is threaded through the left-hand end portion of the bar 37 and at its end is rotatably mounted in the bar 38, being prevented from axial movement therein by the collar 49 and the sprocket 50 which are fixed to the screw. A similar screw 51 carrying a similar sprocket52 and collar 53 is similarly mounted in the bars 37 and 38. A chain 54 connects these sprockets. .It will be seen that movement of the screw 48 will thus be directly communicated to the screw 51 so that the bar 38 and consequently both ends of the roller 41 will be movedequal distances. i

In Figure 2, guards 55 are shown attached to the band knife frame to protect the operator from the pulleys and knife.

To 0 erate the machine, the roller 32 is first .ad usted to be the exact distance from the cutting edge of the band knife necessary to cut the desired number of plies of fabric from the tire. The blocks 34 may be suitably graduated adjacent the slots 34 and a vertical center line marked on the ends of the shaft 33 in'order to facilitate this adj ustment. The end of a tire (whichhas first been transversely severed) is flattened and inserted between the rollers from below with the fabric side towards the roller 32. The handle 48 is then turned until the end of the tire is securely clamped between the rollers. The band knife frame is then brought down 7 to operative position, and held there by means of latch lever 31. It will be remembered 25guides the severed portionsof thetire casing away from the knife, thus permitting the knife to cut even'ly intothe rubber between the pliesof fabric, reducing friction and preventing the sides of the knife. from rubbing the rubber surfacefrom. the material.

' The adjustment of therollers is sufiiciently sensitive to make it possible to slice the plies of fabric from the tire 1 casing. by cutting through the rubber layer between the plies of fabric, with such accuracy that no .bu'ing is required to fit the material :for use. The edge offltheband knifei14 is quite blunt, and

oftheknife and its guideto permit the knife to conform to the slight irregularities inrthe distance between the median plane of the rubber layer being. cut and the inner surface of the tire casing, so that the knifewill sever the layer ofrubber at its median plane. The band knife 14 has thispeculiarproperty: of cutting through the layer of rubber,fe ven if not all parts of the layer of rubber are exthe same distance fromthe inner-surface of the tire casing. The operation =may be repeated until a difierent number of plies are desired or adifferent type of tire casing is to be used.

Theresulting patch material will have a comparatively smooth rubber surface although the'surface will'not be glazed as when.

out with 'a very sharp knife. The surface may best be described as havinga'dull finish, this kind of surface being admirably adapted for, adhesion to the tire casingto-be repaired.

It is to be understood *that,- although: I have described my invention" as adapted. to slice fabric f-rom'the'casings ofltires, I do not wish to limitv myself to such use, for "it is apparent that my machine is capableuof a'great variety of useseMy invention' is also capable of wide variation within equivalent limitsand I contemplate such variation as maybe desirable oruseful-in the particular adaptation'of the invention shown-,or in its adaptation to other machines. 1I'do notre- .there is sufli'cient clearance between the sides 2 st'r'ictmyself, in any unessential particulars, but what I claimanddesireto secure by LettersPatentis: a

1. In a machine ofthe class described, an endless knife carried by two separated wheels, a pivoted frame supporting said knife and wheels whereby said knife and wheels maybe swung as a unit from operai tive to an inoperative position, stock feeding means, power means to drive said knife, and means to feed stock to said knife.

2. In amachine of the class described, the

combination of a main frame, a knife sup- ;porting frame pivotally mounted thereon,

said driving means when the knife is moved to operative position.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a main frame, a knife sup: porting frame pivotally mounted thereon and having a lower operative and a raised inoperative position, an endless band knife carried by pulleys secured to shafts rotatably mounted in said knife frame, a m'orticed 0 'member carried by one of'said shafts, a power shaft, and a tenon member carried by said power shaft,"said mortice and tenon members being adapted to mesh'when theknife frame is in lower operative vposition.

v *4.- In a machine of the class described, the

combination of'an endless knife, means for driving same, a' frame carrying saidknife and driving means and adapted'to move the knife into and out of operative position,

. power means and clutchrmeansbetween the power means and the driving means, said clutch means being adapted to automatically disengage said power and said driving means when said frame is moved to inoperative position. 7 7

' J 5 In a machine of theclass described, the

combination of feeding means, a frame pivoted'relativ'e to said feeding means, a pair of pulleys supported by saidframe', an endless band knife on said pulleys, said frame,

, pulleys and: band knife being movable as a .unitfrom an operative position to an inoperative position, and means for locking said frame in operative position.

7 3 6. In a machine of the class described, a

pair of feeding rolls, a frame mounted for pivotal movement relative to said feeding rolls, a pairof pulleys rotatably mounted on said frame, and a band knife on said pul- V u leys, the center of gravity of said frame,

pulleys "and knife being so located as to be shiftable from one side 'to the other of a f vertical plane passing through the pivotal axis of said frame whereby said'frame may be held in either its operative or inoperative 7 position bygravity; V

In'witness whereof, I hereuntovsubsoribe my name this 13tlr'day of December, 1927.

7 r PAUL'E. HAWKINSON. 

